expressions
with head and feet (and legs and brain
and mind)
Anita
Lee from Hong Kong writes:
When
you describe someone as having his head in the stars and
his feet on the ground, what does this mean? I've checked
many dictionaries and still can't find this phrase.
We
have a large number of idiomatic expressions in English which refer
to various parts of the body. I'm not sure that I have come across
the expression to have or go around with your head in
the stars before, but we do have the expression to have
or go around with your head in the clouds. If you have your
head in the clouds all the time, you are an unrealistic sort of
person, very much a day-dreamer. (Having your head in the stars
may be a local variation on this.)
It
is the direct opposite to say that your feet are on the ground.
Somebody who has his feet on the ground has a sensible and realistic
attitude to life. It is unlikely that the same person would have
his head in the clouds and his feet on the ground, unless he were
suffering from some kind of personality disorder!
foot,
feet, leg
Here
are some sentences with expressions involving leg(s), foot
and feet (three of each). See if you know which part of the
lower limb is needed for the expression in each one. Then check
your answers with the answer key.
He
hardly ever puts a __________ wrong. He never seems to make any
mistakes.
My
__________ hardly touched the ground. I was so busy.
They
have really fallen on their ___________ . They inherited a lot
of money and bought a lovely holiday house in the Bahamas.
He
hasn't got a __________ to stand on. What he did was quite wrong
and cannot be excused.
Come
on, shake a ___________ . We haven't got all day. We've got to
finish this by lunchtime.
He
started off on the wrong ___________ by arriving late on his first
day at work.
The first ___________ of the journey was from Paris to Barcelona.
The second _________ was from Barcelona to Rabat.
I
like to put my ____________ up after a hard day's work and spend
the entire evening relaxing.
You
will have to put your __________ down. It's about time he learnt
that he cannot have everything he wants.
Answers:
He
hardly ever puts a foot wrong. He never seems to make any
mistakes.
My
feet hardly touched the ground. I was so busy.
They
have really fallen on their feet. They inherited a lot
of money and bought a lovely holiday house in the Bahamas.
He
hasn't got a leg to stand on. What he did was quite wrong
and cannot be excused.
Come
on, shake a leg. We haven't got all day. We've got to finish
this by lunchtime.
He
started off on the wrong foot by arriving late on his first
day at work.
The
first leg of the journey was from Paris to Barcelona. The
second leg was from Barcelona to Rabat.
I
like to put my feet up after a hard day's work and spend
the entire evening relaxing.
You will have to put your foot down. It's about time he
learnt that he cannot have everything he wants.
brain,
mind, head
Here
are nine more sentences with expressions which this time involve
brain, mind and head (three of each). See if
you know which is needed for the expression in each case. Then check
your answers with the answer key.
It
was a really tricky mathematical problem that none of us could
solve, but then I suddenly had a ____________ wave.
I
really can't get my ___________ round this. It's too complicated
for me to understand.
I
forgot to phone you last night. I'm sorry. It slipped my __________
.
I
hadn't eaten all day and the champagne went straight to my ____________.
I
have an open ___________ about mixed marriages. There's no reason
at all why they shouldn't work.
He
had set his ___________ on going to Australia to study and nothing
was going to stop him.
There
is a real ___________ drain from England now. All our top scientists,
engineers and academics are moving overseas to work.
She
managed to keep her _____________ despite the panic all around
her.
Let's
_________ storm this idea to see if we can highlight as many aspects
as possible.
Answers:
It
was a really tricky mathematical problem that none of us could
solve, but then I suddenly had a brainwave.
I
really can't get my head round this. It's too complicated
for me to understand.
I
forgot to phone you last night. I'm sorry. It slipped my mind.
I
hadn't eaten all day and the champagne went straight to my head.
I have an open mind about mixed marriages. There's no reason
at all why they shouldn't work.
He
had set his mind on going to Australia to study and nothing
was going to stop him.
There
is a real brain drain from England now. All our top scientists,
engineers and academics are moving overseas to work.
She
managed to keep her head even though everyone else was
panicking.
Let's
brainstorm this idea to see if we can highlight as many
aspects as possible.
